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[LFTAW] Chapter 316: Eight-Edge Assassin
🕑 Added 2024-11-11 01:25:04 +0000 UTCAlthough the night in E-Rantel couldn’t be described as brightly lit, it was still far better than villages like Carne Village, where people relied on the sunrise to start their day and the sunset to call it a night.
On the main road of E-Rantel, a white light cast by a magic spell called 'Continual Light' illuminated the area, preventing this Fortress City from being completely enveloped in darkness under the night sky.
However, since humans were creatures affected by the night, unlike some other races that could still see clearly in the dark, the humans in this world had an instinctual fear of the dark. Except for humans with special professions like adventurers, most humans rarely lived a nocturnal life.
As a result, after nightfall, the number of pedestrians on the streets of E-Rantel greatly decreased, and the sight of young women and children became nearly nonexistent.
Only men, likely returning home after a day's work, could be seen walking along the streets, with their laughter and the sounds of drinking coming from some taverns along the way.
Apart from this, it was quiet.
Meanwhile, there were several inns in E-Rantel specifically for adventurers, and those who stayed in the city regularly typically chose to lodge there.
At these inns, they could meet like-minded colleagues and interact with them, and if they got along well, they might even form an adventurer group together to take on quests.
Riezel, on the other hand, didn't stay at any of these inns but instead stayed at the most luxurious one in E-Rantel, known as the Shining Golden Pavilion.
Naturally, it wasn't because he was especially picky about where he stayed.
Although some of the inns meant for adventurers were frequented by high-ranking adventurers and had quite decent environments, in terms of food, these inns still couldn't beat the Shining Golden Pavilion.
As the most upscale inn in E-Rantel, the Shining Golden Pavilion offered food prepared with ingredients kept fresh by a magic spell called 'Preserve', and the chefs were also top-notch professionals with high praise from the industry.
In this place, one could enjoy soft white bread that ordinary citizens would never taste, hearty red meat dripping with gravy, mashed potatoes made with sweet corn and a generous amount of butter, salads made from fresh vegetables, and tempting mead.
Sometimes, this place even served edible monster meat and rare fruits from outside the city, offering dishes not available at other inns.
As a result, many high-status people were drawn to the delicious food at the Shining Golden Pavilion, making it a popular dining spot. It could be said that this place, much like the Akasha Continent's Hydromel Restaurant, was an upscale establishment frequented only by nobles and wealthy merchants.
Even though Riezel wasn't overly picky about where he stayed, as long as it wasn't too dirty or messy, why would he turn down a place where every meal was a lavish feast?
Except for special cases like dungeon expeditions in the world of Danmachi, his living and eating conditions were generally always excellent.
He either stayed at one of the strongest familias in Orario, Loki Familia, or at the residence of the Frenzel family, who held the rank of marquis on the Akasha Continent. Even in the world of Demon Slayer, he had been treated with great respect by the Ubuyashiki family and the Demon Slayer Corps.
Needless to say, no matter which world, Riezel's living conditions were always top-notch.
Because of this, unless necessary, Riezel didn’t want to settle for eating anything less than delicious, especially in a medieval world that lacked a developed food culture. Consequently, after spending a few days in E-Rantel, he ultimately chose the Shining Golden Pavilion as his base of operations and settled in this inn.
Of course, staying at the most luxurious inn in E-Rantel didn't come cheap.
At least, an ordinary adventurer, even one with the rank of Mithril, would hesitate before making it their permanent residence.
However, for Riezel, who could casually use magic to create gold, this wasn't even something worth considering.
One had to admit that the magic in the Akasha Continent was truly unique.
Because alchemy magic in the Akasha Continent had already matured, making ordinary gold a cheap metal with almost no value, it had become as common as a pebble, while in another world, it was still highly valuable.
In other words, Riezel didn't need to worry about money while traveling in this world. If he wanted to, he could even become the richest person in this world in a matter of minutes. Staying at a luxurious inn wasn't something to hesitate over.
Tonight, Riezel's routine was no different from every other night.
After enjoying a delicious dinner, he returned to his room in the Shining Golden Pavilion to rest.
However, as soon as he stepped into his room, he felt as though he was being watched.
'Is someone watching me?'
Riezel froze for a moment, then activated the Transparent World and looked around.
It didn't take long before he spotted some creatures in hidden corners that others couldn't see.
They were about the same size as humans, but their appearance resembled black spiders with eight legs, each tipped with sharp blades that glistened with a cold light, sending a chill down anyone's spine just by looking at them.
Riezel spotted a total of four of these creatures.
One clung to a tree outside the window, one hung upside down by the window, one hid in the hallway outside his room, and the boldest had even slipped into his room, attaching itself to the ceiling.
Even though they were in these somewhat exposed spots, no one could see them.
It was clearly because they had turned invisible, hiding all their auras and figures. Considering how well they blended in, not even the highest-ranked Adamantite Adventurer would be able to spot them.
However, with the Transparent World, they were completely exposed, and Riezel recognized these creatures for what they were.
'Could they be... those so-called Eight-Edge Assassins?'
Eight-Edge Assassins.
They were monsters skilled in stealth, able to turn themselves invisible, and were considered assassination specialists.
When attacking, they used their eight blade-like legs to strike their target, launching eight attacks simultaneously. What made them terrifying was that if even one of these attacks couldn't be blocked, the target would die instantly with no hope of survival.
Needless to say, the existence of Eight-Edge Assassins was a huge threat to all living beings in this world.
One should know that in YGGDRASIL, Eight-Edge Assassins were around Level 49, much stronger than any beings in the Realm of Heroes in this world.
In other words, considering these monsters were experts in stealth and assassination, they could easily take down not only high-ranking officials but even rulers, like kings or emperors, without anyone knowing, if they wanted to.
Now, four of these terrifying monsters were right around Riezel.
"..."
Riezel remained silent, lost in thought.
He didn't need to think too hard and could already guess who had sent these Eight-Edge Assassins after him.
'Didn't expect him to take such direct action...'
He knew he must have caught Ainz's attention, maybe even caused some hostility, which was why Ainz had sent these Eight-Edge Assassins, likely to monitor him.
Nevertheless, he couldn't help but wonder—wasn't it a little reckless for Ainz not to use surveillance magic on him first and instead send his lackeys directly like this?
Was Ainz not worried about drawing his attention?
Or did Ainz truly believe these Eight-Edge Assassins could fool his eyes?
'He must have thought that if he used surveillance magic to investigate me, he might get counterattacked or something, so he could only send monsters skilled in stealth to keep an eye on me like this.'
Riezel felt as if he could guess Ainz's train of thought.
Regarding surveillance magic, many in YGGDRASIL could do some pretty strange things.
For example, 8th-Tier Magic, Remote Viewing, was specialized in detecting and scouting, allowing the caster to observe scenes from afar.
Aside from that, there was 9th-Tier Magic, God's Eye, which generated an invisible magical eye that flew to distant places for scouting. Its range was greater than Remote Viewing and could even penetrate walls to sneak into buildings.
Unfortunately, this kind of surveillance magic had plenty of countermeasures in YGGDRASIL.
For example, the generated magical eye of God's Eye only had invisibility, so anyone who could use a 2nd-Tier Magic like 'See Through' would be able to detect the eye.
Moreover, surveillance magic was usually easy to counter with anti-surveillance magic, so the caster who used surveillance magic often had a high chance of exposing their own location, which was a huge risk.
Additionally, many players in YGGDRASIL had offensive barriers against surveillance magic. Once detected, the offensive barrier would react to the surveillance magic and attack the caster.
In short, while surveillance magic was useful, no one dared to use it recklessly, especially against players.
With Ainz's cautious personality and his current suspicion that Riezel was a player of YGGDRASIL, he certainly wouldn't casually use surveillance magic on Riezel. Not only would it expose his presence, but it could also lead to a counterattack from Riezel's offensive barrier.
Evidently, this was why Ainz had sent the Eight-Edge Assassins to implement a direct surveillance strategy.
However—
'Sorry, but I'm not an exhibitionist.'
Riezel looked up and met the gaze of the Eight-Edge Assassin attached to the ceiling of his room.
Suddenly, Riezel's lips curled into a smile, causing the Eight-Edge Assassin to twitch its head as if in disbelief at what it had seen.
"Hey, how about coming down for a chat?"
Riezel asked casually, making the Eight-Edge Assassin, who heard his question, realize that its presence had been exposed.
Whoosh!
Without any hesitation, the Eight-Edge Assassin turned into an afterimage and flew out of the room through the window.
"Exposed! Retreat!"
Hearing the fleeing Eight-Edge Assassin's sharp cry, the other three Eight-Edge Assassins immediately followed suit, turning into afterimages as they escaped.
Ainz's orders were to monitor Riezel and not take any action until further instructions, so they were ordered to retreat immediately if anything unexpected happened.
Unfortunately for them, Riezel wouldn't allow it.
Schwing!
BOOM!
As the sound of a sword being unsheathed echoed, a lightning bolt flashed the next second, accompanied by a roar of thunder.
